Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who appeared at the TED stage yesterday, explained that smartphones don't allow their users to interact enough with the outside world, and even called them "emasculating." People walk around with their faces buried in their smartphone's screen and swipe at a piece of glass.

"Is this the way you're meant to interact with other people?" asked Brin. "It's kind of emasculating. Is this what you're meant to do with your body?

"When we started Google 15 years ago, my vision was that information would come to you as you need it. You wouldn't have to search query at all."

According to Brin, Google Glass -- a hands-free, voice-activated headset with augmented reality features -- is that vision materialized. Brin showed Google Glass off at TED, saying it's the way people were meant to interact with one another while still using digital technology.

Google Glass is being offered to early adopters right now for a steep price of $1,500.

Exactly... I love the idea of recording a movie on demand without having to aim a phone. It just records exactly what you see. The applications are limitless... And the amatuer porn industry just got alot better ;)

I don't think anyone here is trying to say that these do not have potential. They do, a ton. This very well may be the foundation of future technology. What most people here seem to be trying to convey, though, is that *current* technology severely limits the usefulness of the devices for what a typical consumer would want. Very few people are going to pay a premium for a device with limited capabilities that requires speaking voice commands to control functionality. That doesn't even count the number of people who won't wear it because it "looks dumb."

"Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be." -- Steve Ballmer